What if the brain could repair itself all along, and we just needed to learn how to help it? In this debut episode of Bold Minds, host Fiona Sanderson sits down with three of Canada's bold early-career neuroscientists to explore the cutting edge of brain regeneration, including stem cell and myelin biology, the support cells in our brains that might be responsible for stress regulation, and the surprising mechanisms behind what might just be the next generation of antidepressants.

With more than one in three people worldwide living with a neurological condition, the stakes couldn't be higher…and these researchers are tackling the problem from the inside out, literally - starting with the brain's own cells.

Featured guests:

Dr. Anastassia Voronova, Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of Alberta

Dr. Argel Aguilar-Valles, Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Carleton University

Dr. Ciaran Murphy-Royal, Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at l’Université de Montréal

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program is made possible thanks to an anchor gift from the Azrieli Foundation, and matched by Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund. It supports bold, early-career neuroscientists and helps bring their ideas to life.

Bold Minds is hosted by Fiona Sanderson. Our executive producers are Jillian Donnelly and Kate Shingler.

Our lead producer is Jess Schmidt, with editing by Morgane Chambrin.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, we’d appreciate it if you could send it to a friend. If you want to learn more about Brain Canada and the amazing research we support, please visit our website at

braincanada.ca.

There are many questions yet to decipher in brain disease research - but advances in neuroscience are providing new tools to explore how treatments may change the brain…making now the right time for the bold minds on the cutting edge to come together and find us the answers we need to improve the lives of Canadians and beyond!

Bold Minds premieres March 3, 2026, so subscribe to Bold Minds to be the first to hear about the latest brain research shaping our future!

Featured guests:

Dr. Anastassia Voronova, Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of Alberta

Dr. Gayatri Saraf, Psychiatrist and Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at University of Ottawa

Dr. Anthony Gifuni, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, and a Researcher and Psychiatrist at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program is made possible thanks to an anchor gift from the Azrieli Foundation, and matched by Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund. It supports bold, early-career neuroscientists and helps bring their ideas to life.

Bold Minds is hosted by Fiona Sandersen. Our executive producers are Jillian Donnelly and Kate Shingler.

Our lead producer is Jess Schmidt, with editing by Morgane Chambrin.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, we’d appreciate it if you could send it to a friend. If you want to learn more about Brain Canada and the amazing research we support, please visit our website at

braincanada.ca.

The human brain is one of the most complex structures we know of in the universe. It’s at the root of who we are as humans. And yet, we know so little about it.

Across Canada, researchers are working on the next big breakthrough in brain science. What if we could bring these bold minds together to share their discoveries and build on each other's success?

That’s part of our mission at Brain Canada - and the inspiration behind our new show, Bold Minds: Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research. Brain Canada brings together funders and researchers to enable health innovations for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Our first episode debuts this March, so make sure you subscribe to Bold Minds to hear about the latest brain research shaping our future!

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program is made possible thanks to an anchor gift from the Azrieli Foundation, and matched by Brain Canada through the Canada Brain Research Fund. It supports bold, early-career neuroscientists and helps bring their ideas to life.

Bold Minds is hosted by Fiona Sandersen. Our executive producers are Jillian Donnelly and Kate Shingler.

Our lead producer is Jess Schmidt, with editing by Morgane Chambrin.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, we’d appreciate it if you could send it to a friend. If you want to learn more about Brain Canada and the amazing research we support, please visit our website at

braincanada.ca.